The Dallas Cowboys are not picking up the team option on Henry Melton, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Melton's agent confirmed the report Saturday that Dallas was not picking up his three-year, $24 million option before Sunday's deadline to do so. It's a bit of a surprise after Melton was one of the better defensive tackles in 2014. Pro Football Focus ranked Melton 14th out of 81 DTs that played in at least 25% of their teams' snaps.
Melton is now a free agent for the second year in a row after he became one last year following tearing his ACL with the Bears in 2013. He rebounded nicely in 2014, but it wasn't enough to earn him a long-term deal with Dallas.
Now that Melton is hitting the open market, he's easily one of the best DTs available, and the 290-pounder has spent most of his career playing as a three-technique while finishing with six sacks this past season.